


liminal

by bertee



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Punishment, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-13
Updated: 2013-08-13
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:50:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertee/pseuds/bertee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the kink meme <a href="http://spnkink-meme.livejournal.com/60920.html?thread=18537720&#t18537720">prompt</a>: <i>Jensen's a rebellious new slave and Jeff's the overseer in charge of discipline. Whenever Jensen disobeys their owners they set painful and humiliating punishments (flogging, giving Jensen to the guards etc). Jeff has to adminster the punishments as set by their owners, but when that's over he takes care of Jensen, comforts him as much as he can. </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	liminal

Jensen doesn't break easily.

Jeff knows he'll be trouble as soon as he's unloaded off the slaver's wagon, shackled and scowling. Sure enough, he lands his first punishment less than two hours later, courtesy of slamming his elbow into Pellegrino's nose hard enough to break it.

The punishment for slave-on-slave violence is less than it would've been had Jensen attacked their master or even one of the overseers. However, from the glare Jensen gives him as Jeff has him strapped to the whipping post, he's pretty sure Jensen would've done the same to anyone who grabbed his ass like Pellegrino did, slave or no slave.

Jeff's seen it before. He's the weapon wielded by the master and as such, he's overseen the disclipine of dozens of slaves over the years. Jensen's not the first to have an attitude problem and he damn sure won't be the last, but when Michael pulls Jensen's tunic down to reveal old scars covering his back like a net, Jeff can't held but think it's going to take more than a beating to get him in line.

Jensen gets plenty of them anyway.

It's the master's punishment of choice: quick, impersonal, and effective, and if the master commands it, Jeff has no option to obey. When Jensen talks back, when he refuses an order, when he puts so much as a toe out of line, he's chained back to the post for a fresh set of lashes. They're about as efficient as the tide against a mountain and if they're eroding any of his determination, Jeff can't see it.

Every beating makes him rebel more and it's only when Jeff catches him trying to make his escape on a horse from the stable that the master finally realizes that the traditional methods aren't working with Jensen.

The non-traditional methods aren't any more pleasant.

It's easily the worst part of Jeff's role in the household. On the whole, he's good at keeping people in line; he's suitably intimidating towards those who cross him and he's friendly with the rest. The beatings aren't fun to administer but at the end of it, it's just pain. It'll pass.

It's harder to convince himself of that when punishments last longer than a quick flogging.

When beating Jensen doesn't bring him in line, the master goes for endurance punishments. Stealing some bread from the kitchen leads to Jensen not being fed for three days; talking back to the guards leads to him being forced to wear a scold's bridle for a whole day; and his attempted escape leads to him being locked in the stables for two nights with only straw to sleep on.

By the time Jeff brings him his food after the third day of starvation, he can't help but hope that's enough to break him. As much of a pain in the ass as Jensen is, Jeff feels for the kid. (Hell, he's reluctantly impressed by how long he's held out.)

Jensen's weak when he finds him, pale and desperately hungry, but as grateful as he is to Jeff for the food (apparently forgetting that Jeff was in charge of starving him in the first place), his defiance is up and running at full strength just hours later.

The master moves on to humiliation next. When Jensen doesn't clean the hall adequately, he's forced to lick the master's shoes clean instead; when he spits in the master's food, he's chained down to be spat on by anyone who passes by; and when he calls the master 'a fucking asshole' to his face, he's stripped naked and locked in the stocks to be used however the guards please.

Jeff helps him as much as he can. He preps him first, gives him water, and stands by to intervene if the guards get too rough, but when Jensen is freed hours later, his ass beaten red and his face covered in come, he's nowhere near as cowed as Jeff expected.

Jeff's surprised by how concerned he is at the obvious conclusion that Jensen's had worse in the past.

After that, he's not sure if Jensen's ever going to break. He earns punishment after punishment, long, short, painful, shameful, and doesn't ever seem to learn the respect he needs to survive in the master's household. Jeff almost thinks it might be a suicide attempt, waiting to be killed by a guard who loses his temper instead of taking his own life directly, but when Jensen drops a plate of food on one of the master's guests at dinner, Jeff has second thoughts. 

The punishment is swift and severe. He's tied up outside like a dog, a metal collar locked around his neck and the chain fastened to a post in the middle of the muddy courtyard, with the order to leave him there for five days.

The first two pass without incident. After being locked in the stocks and made to lick their master's boots, relieving himself in public and eating scraps doesn't seem to faze Jensen, but when the weather turns on the third night, Jensen's rebellious nature starts to fade.

The wind is vicious, a cold chill sweeping in from the north, and when Jeff checks on him the next morning, Jensen's shaking. Jeff's attempts to give him a blanket are foiled by the captain of the guards, who leads his men past Jensen more times than necessary in order to mock his plight, and when the evening draws in, robbing the day of what little warmth it had, Jensen finally breaks.

For someone so defiant, he's surprisingly practised at begging. His teeth chatter when he asks Jeff for mercy, promises to be obedient if they'll just let him inside, and Jeff's heart aches when he tells him he'll relay his submission to the master.

His heart aches even more when he has to tell Jensen that the master said no.

Jensen takes it well, nodding and thanking Jeff for his efforts, but as he curls himself up against the wind, Jeff's almost certain he can hear him crying.

He's shaking even more the next morning, his skin near translucent from the cold. Jeff feeds him a hot meal, pushes his own cocoa into his trembling hands to warm him up, but when the rain comes down on the fifth evening, he swallows what little pride he has left and goes to plead with the master for Jensen's release. After all, Jensen's his property -- he wouldn't want to lose money by letting him freeze.

With a glass of wine in his hand and a smirk on his lips, his master tells him that Jensen can die out there for all he cares.

The threat of the same death is all that keeps Jeff from punching that smirk off his face. Bidding goodnight with a polite bow, he goes straight to his room to find the biggest, most durable cloak available and heads back out to the courtyard.

Jensen looks at him as though he thinks he's dreaming.

He's soaked and muddied and damn near sobbing when Jeff settles on the dirt next to him and wraps his cloak around them both. Jensen buries his head in his shoulder, his breath shallow and his whole body shaking, and Jeff silences his hitching explanations and apologies as he pulls him in tighter.

The night passes like that, the two of them huddled together against the rain and sleet and wind. It's bitterly cold, enough for Jeff to be sure that another night of exposure would've killed Jensen. Judging by the pallor of his face the next morning, it still might, and Jeff goes to retrieve the key to Jensen's collar as soon as the sun comes up and his five nights of punishment are over.

The master doesn't object. Jensen's barely strong enough to stand when Jeff frees him and he carries him down to his room, ignoring the stares of the cooks and the guards as they take up their posts for the day. Jensen's shivering picks up again once he's in bed, which Jeff decides is a positive sign, and after leaving him some food and drink, Jeff goes back to work.

His prayers that he's done enough are answered. Jensen looks better when he returns that evening and better still each morning that he wakes up in Jeff's bed.

Despite his improvements, it's three more days before he's strong enough to go back to work. Jeff catches him at the door that morning and, with his mind still stuck on the memory of Jensen begging not to be left to die out there, he offers up a plea of his own for Jensen to just please, please obey.

He doesn't want to hurt him any more, doesn't want to hand him over to the guards or bind him to the whipping post again, but when Jensen gives him a firm promise and a soft kiss, something calms inside him at the knowledge that he won't have to.


End file.
